Los Angeles Unified School District shut down its “teacher jails” Tuesday, freeing educators to stay at home on paid leave, instead of at a district office, during investigations into alleged misconduct.

Board member Tamar Galatzan said closing the facilities was the right move, because the district will no longer have to pick up the tab for employees to watch over teachers suspected of wrongdoing.

“It was just a waste of resources,” Galatzan said. “This is a much better way of addressing the issue when we have to pull someone out of school in order to do an investigation.”

Under the district’s former practices, teachers who were facing allegations such as child abuse or other misconduct would be assigned to off-campus administrative buildings while their cases were investigated.

The numbers of teachers assigned to these jails accelerated in recent years as Superintendent John Deasy tightened disciplinary procedures following multiple incidents of child abuse alleged at district schools.

Those investigations could take months or even years to finish. Longer investigations, Galatzan said, typically involve law enforcement agencies outside LAUSD’s control.

Some teachers complained that the district was taking too hard a line on even minor offenses, and it was a waste of time for them to sit in an office essentially doing nothing while investigations dragged on.

Under the “teacher jail” model, Galatzan said: “You’re going to sit and watch movies on your laptop versus sitting and watching in your living room.”

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